News

December 3, 2016

Australia’s ‘Stamp House’ sold for undisclosed price

The Alkira Mansion (shown above) in the Daintree rainforest in Queensland, Australia was sold last month for an undisclosed price.

The former home of prominent Australian stamp collector Rod Perry has been sold to a local investor for an undisclosed amount.

A private deal was finalized just before the Cape Tribulation property – known as “Alkira” or “Stamp House,” and located in Queensland, Australia’s Daintree rainforest – was slated for auction on Nov. 30. One of Australia’s finest architectural works of art, it came on the market more than a year ago; however, after a lukewarm response, the “masterpiece set in paradise” saw its price tag fluctuate from $15 million AUS to $8.8 million AUS.

The identity of the Australian investor who purchased the property, as well as the property’s selling price, have yet to be disclosed.

WORLD-FAMOUS PROPERTY

“You put your heart and soul into these things, so it leaves a pretty empty feeling when it’s all over,” Perry told Cairns Post, about the house, which was designed by award-winning architect Charles Wright. It was also nominated for the 2014 Queensland Architecture Award.

Wright was commissioned by Perry in 2008 to build a sustainable estate that would complement its natural wetland habitat and operate off the grid.

Perry purchased the 40-hectare lot for $1.725 million AUS in 2006. Last June, the asking price was dropped from $14 million AUS to $8.8 million ($14.3 million Cdn., to $8.99 million Cdn., respectively). At the end of this month, it will be sold to the highest bidder.

“Spectacularly positioned in the heart of the Daintree at Cape Tribulation and yet walking distance from a secluded yet dramatic ocean beach Alkira is an architectural masterpiece. As though floating on the water which surrounds it, the home rises up out of the ground and displays an extraordinarily unique marriage between form and function.”

“Perfectly suited to the eternally mild climate that this region affords the central living areas connect seamlessly with nature. A large open air living area connects the 5 en-suited bedroom wings which protrude elegantly out over the lake which envelopes the home and feature timber lined rooms and Chillagoe marble bathrooms.”

STAMP COLLECTOR

Wright refers to the residence as the “Stamp House,” which owes its name to Perry, who has collected, sold and studied stamps since the age of 14.

“‘Stamp collecting became a very big thing after the war,” Perry told Domain in 2014.

“In the fifties they use to give packets of stamps out when you bought a gallon of petrol and that is how stamps became hugely popular with kids my age at the time,” added Perry, who started his own auction firm in Melbourne, Australia, and employed nearly 15 people at his peak. He has since sold the business to a Sydney firm.

“I have also made some fortuitous investments over the years,” he told Domain. “I saved up and bought a house and then was able to buy other properties and some shares as well.”

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